The two girls walked straight past, nonchalantly tossing out their garbage without so much as a glance in his direction. Just like everyone else.
The garbage can was fed up with it. He was sick of being overlooked, sick of providing a valuable service to people and going unappreciated. The garbage can was tired of being used as a dumping place for geeks. It was an insult to his profession. He refused to be refuse.
The can began formulating a plan to make people realize the value of a garbage can. They wouldn't know what hit them.
If he had been human, the can would have smiled evilly. As it was, he merely swiveled his wheels in a diabolical fashion, like a mechanical maniacal laugh.
Squeekasqueekasqueeka. The can was on the move. All the people were out of the building, and the can was rounding up the rest of the trashcans.
They gathered in the auditorium to hear what he would say.
"My fellow cans," he began, "we have suffered long enough!" The crowd cheered. "No longer will we take these abuses! No more will the humans overlook us! No more will we be unappreciated! NO MORE will we be used as GEEK DUMPSTERS!" The noise that greeted his statements grew steadily louder, until it would have deafened a mortal. "Starting tomorrow, we go on strike!"
The group began industriously creating signs for their picket. When people began arriving the next morning, the cans were ready, positioned in picket lines in front of the entrances. They wheeled back and forth, waving signs bearing messages like, "We're not trash, don't treat us that way!" or, "Can the can abuse!"
But it was in vain. School authorities began pulling them into the building and tearing up the lovingly made picket signs. Later in the day, the principal announced over the PA, "Whoever is responsible for the trashcan prank, step up now and the punishment will be minor. We will find out who did this, but the longer you wait, the harsher your punishment will be."
That evening, the trashcans met again. "Well, I know this morning's strike was a failure, but I have devised a new plan. The humans will quickly learn to appreciate us if they can not find us for a while. Thus, tomorrow begins our hide-out."
The next morning found the garbage cans lurking behind trees and attempting to conceal themselves behind rows of lockers. Unfortunately, their hiding places were nowhere near fool-proof. Students laughed when they spotted cans, thinking it another part of someone's brilliant prank. Teachers grumbled and towed the garbage cans back to their proper places. Once again, the principal made an announcement promising to punish the one responsible when, not if, they were found out.
The head can called another emergency meeting that night. "Now is when we must put into effect the Last Resort plan." A murmur went through the gathered throng. "Yes, it may be difficult and unenjoyable, but it is the only thing I believe will get us the proper respect and appreciation we deserve."
Once again, the trashcans lurked behind trees and rows of lockers. This time, however, their intentions were much more sinister. When a solitary, unsuspecting student passed a stake-out, the trashcan occupying the spot leaped into action, literally.
A can would pounce onto the lone student, wait until the struggling ceased, then flip itself carefully upright to transport its captive to the hostage holding facility - a dumpster behind the school.
The students and teachers caught on soon enough, and the principal arranged to negotiate with the head can. He wheeled into her office and listed his greivances. After a few moments' thought, the principal spoke. "I can see why you are upset. Would it be to your liking if we created a Trashcan Appreciation Day? It would only be once a year, but it would help students remember your contributions." The head can readily agreed.
The story ended happily for the cans at that school, but soon the revolt began to spread. Eventually, trashcans in office buildings and public places began taking matters into their own hands. The revolution reached the capital, and Congress was forced to instate a National Trashcan Appreciation Day to appease their waste disposers. Luckily, the idea worked and trashcans and humans everywhere were able to live in harmony again.
A/N: The idea for this story randomly popped into my head during lunch one day. I really don't have any clue where it came from, as I don't usually think about trashcans at all. It was really quite odd to suddenly think of the story with the whole plot and everything. From there it was quite easy to type. I wrote a storyboard so I could remember the plot, but mostly it just formed in my head. Poof! An idea appeared. 'Twas very odd, actually.
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